


Folie à Trois

by MidnightNinja27



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Abigail Hobbs Lives, Abigail Hobbs is a Cannibal, Adopted Abigail Hobbs, Alzheimer's Disease, Dark Abigail Hobbs, Dark Will Graham, Do-Over, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, F/M, Growing Old Together, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Happy Murder Family, M/M, Murder Family, Murder Husbands, Mutual Suicide, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Post-Fall (Hannibal), Sort Of, Suicide, The ravenstag - Freeform, Time Travel Fix-It, Trans Will Graham, Transphobia, Will Graham Knows, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham is a Cannibal, he isn’t but his alias is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 14,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightNinja27/pseuds/MidnightNinja27
Summary: AU: Both Hannibal and Will die in the fall, they are both reborn on the day before they discover the Minnesota Shrike.Do you ever wish that you could know the ending so you could go back to the beginning and get it right?As Will and Hannibal crashed into the dark waves after their fight with the Dragon, Will finds himself returned to the day he examined Cassie Boyle’s body.
Relationships: Bella Crawford/Jack Crawford, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Margot Verger
Comments: 49
Kudos: 873





	1. The Awakening

Narrator’s POV

Falling was such a strange feeling.

It was like flying, a bit whimsical with a sense of dread as they grew ever closer to the waves below.

But Will didn’t care, snuggling deeper into Hannibal’s embrace as the dark waves grew ever closer.

If they lived or died, it didn’t matter, they would do it together.

As the pair was enveloped by the unforgiving waves, Will gasped as he woke up.

Shaking slightly, the empath found himself standing in a field, F.B.I. agents surrounding him as he looked into Cassie Boyle’s corpse.

“Where did all his love go?” Jack asked, looking down to the impaled body

Will knew this wasn’t the work of the Minnesota Shrike, of Garrett Jacob Hobbs, he knew this was Hannibal’s work.

But this time, he didn’t have to out Hannibal, or the Copycat as he had said last time.

“This one had something wrong with her, something that made her different than the others.” Will said, making up his mind to protect Hannibal this time and protect Abigail in the process

“Like Elise Nichols?” Jack asked, remembering the last victims had liver cancer, “Then why not put her back where he found her?”

“Then it wasn’t something physically wrong, but behaviorally.” Will added, lying, “Maybe the way she acted the night he captured her frightened him so much to see the possibility of what his golden ticket could become he took it out on her. Our cannibal has a house, or two, or a cabin...something with an antler room. He has a daughter. The same age as the other girls. Same hair colour, same eye colour, same height, same weight. She’s an only child. She’s leaving home. He can’t stand the thought of losing her.”

The profiler then walked back to the car, having arrived with the older man to the crime scene.

Will waited in the car as the agents finished up recording the scene and preparing taking the body back to Quantico, deep in thought.

How could he be back in time? Had everything he remembered been a dream? No, it was real.

Then how come he was the only one how remembered, it was clear no one else around him had known.

Will sighed sadly, mourning the loss of his Hannibal, his murder husband.

Yes, Will accepted that trashy Tattlecrime nickname for him and Hannibal since it did accurately describe them.

As Jack eventually returned and drive Will to his hotel, the ex-cop came to a decision: if Hannibal remembered, great that would make life easier; if he didn’t then Will would do everything he could to prevent all the mistakes he had made last time from happening.

This time, he would get his encephalitis checked out before it became a problem Hannibal could manipulate.

This time, he would accept his darkness without a fight and embrace his Becoming.

This time, if they got discovered they would flee to Europe together as a family.

This time, nothing would happen to Abigail.

***

Once Jack parked the car in front of the motel Will would be staying in, the brunette thanked him for the ride and went into his room, popping an Aspirin to deal with the headache, showering and going to bed.

When he woke from a nightmare as usual, Will noticed the knocking at the door.

Knowing Hannibal had arrived, Will got up and opened the door.

“Good morning, Will. May I come in?” Hannibal greeted, a bag in his hands holding ceramic containers of what Will knew to be scrambled eggs and sausage made of Cassie Boyle’s lungs

Looking into the cannibal’s eyes, Will tried to see any spark of real recognition but didn’t see any, his hope of Hannibal remembering disappointed, “Where’s Crawford?”

“Deposed in court. The adventure will be yours and mine today. May I come in?” Hannibal informed, walking into the small motel room once given permission, setting his bag on the small table

Taking out the containers holding the food, Hannibal put one before each of them, “I’m very careful about what I put into my body, which means I end up preparing most meals myself. A little protein scramble to start the day. Some eggs, some sausage.”

Taking a bite of the ‘sausage’, Will complementing him, “Mm, thank you, it’s delicious. What kind of sausage is it? Long pig?”

The older man gave a knowing smile, “My pleasure. She was a very feisty one; pre-smoked.”

“I imagine.” Will chuckled, “In fact, the only thing missing from this dish would be some Red Dragon chili peppers.”

A sparkle appeared in the psychologist’s eyes, “Indeed, I’ll have to keep it in mind for our next fall.”

Will smiled: Hannibal remembered too.

“I don’t think we’ll have another fall, Hannibal, I think one fatal battle with the Tooth Fairy was enough.” Will said

“I agree, we’ll have to face our Dragon before he reaches his Becoming.” Hannibal added, “But tell me, Will, do you still accept your own Becoming?”

Will reached a hand across the table and placed it over Hannibal’s, “It’s still beautiful.”

The two men stared at each other’s eyes, blue staring into maroon, as they held hands.

It seems the universe had given them a second chance to get it all right.

“I didn’t tell Jack about the ‘Copycat’.” Will admitted, “Told him Hobbs must have reached the boiling point with her.”

“Good.” Hannibal said, stroking his thumb against Will’s as he picked up his fork, “Finish your breakfast.”

***

As Hannibal and Will drive to the construction site where they would look through files in ‘hope’ to find the Minnesota Shrike’s identity.

Once they spent a half hour looking through files for pretenses, they collected Garrett Jacob Hobb’s file and went to the man’s house.

Since Hannibal had made the ‘courtesy call’ just two minutes ago, Hobbs had already slashed his wife’s throat with her dying outside as she had before.

But unlike before, Will didn’t waste his time with the dead woman not warning and shot Hobbs before he had the chance to slit Abigail’s throat.

This time, he didn’t waste ten bullets to take him down, just a single shot to the shoulder.

Once the man had fallen to the ground away from Abigail, Will shot him twice more: once to the head and to the heart.

“Will?” Abigail shakily asked, out of breath from all the fear and tears

Will smiled as he turned to her, embracing her, “I promise I’ll protect you this time, Abigail.”...


	2. Canine

Narrator's POV

The F.B.I. arrived twenty minutes later with two ambulances in tow.

While the agency swarmed the crime scene, Louise and Garret Jacob Hobbs were declared dead at scene and all of Abigails injuries were little more than scratches and bruises.

Since this time, Abigail hadn't gone into a coma, she was immediately questioned on what had happened.

Skillfully, she recounted a tale of truths and half-truths, of how her father had killed her mother and tried to do the same to her suddenly in the middle of breakfast.

Will and Hannibal helped as much as they could, telling Jack what had happened when they arrived.

***

After an hour or so of questioning, Hannibal and Will were allowed to take Abigail from the scene.

Also immediately after they arrived at Hannibal's house, the older man contacted his lawyer to get himself and Will registered as Abigail's guardians.

While Hannibal was on the phone, Will and Abigail talked in the kitchen.

"How are we here?" The teen girl asked

"We don't know either." Will admitted, "What's the last thing you can remember?"

"W-When we-we were supposed to leave to-together." Abigail admitted, remembering her death

Will nodded slightly, "That won't happen this time. I won't let it. This time, if we have to flee, we go just as we planned."

Abigail smiled weakly, "What about you? What do you remember last?"

"After what happened that night, Hannibal left with his psychiatrist and went to Europe. I went after him after spending nearly a year in the hospital. I found him in Florence and we forgave each other for our betrayals but then I betrayed him again and he tried to eat my brain and feed it to Jack too. Then me and Hannibal basically broke-up and he allowed himself to be captured since he didn't accept it. I tried to be normal for three years and even got married while Hannibal waited in the asylum. I broke him out in the end and we killed another killer together and then I pushed us off a cliff. Next thing I know, I'm back here." Will shared, catching her up on what she had missed

"I was so terrified when I first 'woke up'. One moment I was bleed- I was in Hannibal's kitchen with you and the next I was watching tv with my parents last night." Abigail admitted, "my first thought was that 'I'm in Hell and I have to relive this forever'. Anyways, what's the plan?"

"Nothing terribly complicated, try to relive what happened last time while avoiding our mistakes. If everything works out well, we stay here for the rest of our lives. If worse still happens, we go abroad and live on the run. No matter what we can't betray each other, that where we went wrong." Will informed

"Are you and Hannibal a couple?" Abigail asked

"Kinda." Will said, rubbing his thumbs together, "We're partners but I don't know if that includes romantically."

"I was under the assumption we were Murder Husbands." Hannibal stated as he walked in, "And if I'm not wrong, 'husbands' implies a romantic relationship."

Will blushed, "You wouldn't be wrong."

Hannibal smiled and leaned towards him, kissing him.

Their kiss was brief, barely lasting a few seconds, but it left them both wanting more.

They kissed once more, resting their foreheads together for a moment before separating.

"I think we should have brunch." Hannibal decided, "To honor our old lives while embracing our new one."

"Sounds good to me." Will agreed, "Want any help?"

"Just with setting the table." Hannibal answered

Hannibal then made their brunch: making espresso waffles with a mocha drizzle, blue cheese and 'bacon' quiche and fresh pomegranate juice.

An hour or so later, the small family was eating their meal together and talking.

"We'll have to lay low for awhile." Will said, referring to his and Hannibal's relationship, "Since we technically met yesterday, it would be weird if we were suddenly dating and I was moving in with you."

"It would, so start small, start packing but we can wait a few weeks." Hannibal agreed, "Perhaps we should wait to be public until Frederick ‘finds’ the Ripper.”

“That would be best.” Will said, “It’ll give you plenty of time to dog-proof the house.”

“I think it would be best if you began to find new homes for most of your dogs.” Hannibal softly said, “If the worse still occurs it will be very difficult for us to leave the country with more than one, maybe two of them and we wouldn’t want to burden Alana with seven of them with no notice.”

As much as Will wanted to argue, Hannibal did have a point.

***

A week later, after finding the Mushroom Farmer known as Eldon Stammets, Will was in his house in Wolf Trap.

Over the course of the week, he had gotten medication for his encephalitis and had rehomed all but three of his dogs.

He intended only to keep Winston and Buster, but so far Zoe was the only dog left unadopted.

Just as he thought that, he heard a car park outside his house, looking out he saw an older Latina woman get out of her car and walk towards the door.

Opening it before she could knock, he introduced her to Zoe and helped load Zoe’s bed, leash, and a bag of treats into the car.

Before long, the woman was gone and with her Zoe.

***

The next morning, Will woke up and fed his dogs while he waited for the water to boil so he could make coffee.

Once he had his mug full of coffee, he sat on his couch and sipped at it when he see his dogs run to the door and start barking.

Getting up, he opened the door and let them out, seeing Alana walk up to the house.

“Morning!” Alana greeted

“Didn’t hear you drive up.” Will said, taking a sip of coffee after

“Hybrid.” Alana said, holding up her keys, “Great car for stalking.”

“Um, I’m compelled to go cover myself.” Will awkwardly said

Alana shrugged and said, “I have brothers.”

“Well, I’ll put a robe on just the same. You want a cup of coffee?” Will offered, turning around to head back in his house, “And more immediately, why are you here?”

“Yes, and I wanted to tell you Jack wants to know why you and Hannibal became Abigail’s guardians within hours of her parent’s deaths?” Alana informed

“She has no one else.” Will shrugged, walking into the kitchen with Alana following, “Just wanted to make sure she’d be alright.”

“Also, where’s the rest of your pack?” Alana asked, wondering why she had only seen two dogs

Will handed her a mug, “I’ve been sick for a while, still taking meds, figured having seven dogs isn’t healthy so I’ve found most of them new homes.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Alana inquires, “You’ve been acting kind of strange.”

“How so?” Will asked, wrapping himself in a robe

“It’s just that one morning you’ve acting as you’ve always have and the next you’ve acted, for lack of a better word, confident.” Alana said

Will rolled his eyes, “I’m not a fragile teacup, Alana, I’m not about to fall apart. I’m fine.”...


	3. Charlatan

Narrator's POV

"Good afternoon, mylimasis." Hannibal greeted as Will entered his office

"Hey." Will replies, kissing his cheek as he entered

It had been a month since he had found Eldon Stammets and since they he had 'caught' the family murders and the Angel Maker.

Sitting on the plush chair he always did during their sessions, Will asked, "Who are we going to have as our scapegoat? Gideon or Chilton?"

"Chilton would suit our purposes better seeing we have the same profile." Hannibal answered, sitting down across from him, "How are you feeling, Will?"

"Freddie has reported Gideon's murder of the nurse," Will said, "I'm surprised Jack hasn't called me yet."

"You're avoiding the question, mylimasis, I thought we promised each other honesty." Hannibal pointed out

"I know, I'm just a little worried; everything really changes today." Will admitted, "When you begin taunting Jack with Miriam, I want to be there."

"Of course." The older man replied

"I want to go through our get away plan again." Will added, "Just in case."

Hannibal nodded, mentally noting that Will was a bit paranoid, "If we are together, we take our prepared suitcases to the airport and head to Florence. If we are separated, Abigail will bring our suitcases to the airport and we'll meet her there and head to Florence together. In worse case, we all head to Florence separately and meet at the Uffizi Gallery on the first Tuesday there at noon in the Botticelli Exhibit."

Before the younger man could reply, Jack called Will and told him to meet him at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Since he had been with Hannibal when called, Will brought him along.

***

"Hello, Will." Jack said as the profiler got out of Hannibal's Bentley, then seeing the psychiatrist, "Oh and hello to you, Dr. Lecter."

"Hello, Jack." Both men greeted

"Well, thanks to Freddie Lounds, there's an unconfirmed story floating out there that The Chesapeake Ripper's already in custody." Jack informed as they walked into the asylum

"Unconfirmed. Am I confirming?" Will asked, "Fact-checking for Freddie Lounds-"

"You're fact-checking for me." Jack sternly interrupting

"I always feel a little nervous going into these places." Will admitted, pretending to ignore the rudeness

"Why's that?" Jack asked

"Afraid they won't let me out." Will awkwardly chuckled

"Don't worry. I won't leave you here." Jack replied

"Yeah, not today." Will bitterly said as they made it to Dr. Chilton's office

"Dr. Bloom just called me about you, Mr. Graham... or should I call you Dr. Graham?" Dr. Chilton said as the three men entered his office

Will slipped into his old persona easily, acting as social awkward as he always had, "I'm not a doctor."

"You're not FBI either. That's a temporary identification." Chilton pointed out1

"Mr. Graham teaches at the academy." Jack informed, shaking the other man's hand

"Ah, a teacher." Dr. Chilton said, "And it's always a pleasure to see you, Dr. Lecter. Please, gentlemen, take a seat."

"Thank you." Jack thanked as they all sat, "Dr. Chilton, we're going to need to see the crime scene while it's still relatively undisturbed."

"I assure you, for something so disturbing, it is quite undisturbed." Chilton replied, a slight smugness in his voice

***

With the rest of the rather rude questioning out if the way, they were taken to the Crime Scene and Will went through the motions like he always did.

Once he emerged from his reconstruction of the crime, making a show of being disgusted with what he saw, Will, "As far as we know it's been over two years since the Chesapeake Ripper killed?"

"That's correct." Jack confirmed

"When was Gideon admitted?" Will asked

Jack yet again answered, "Almost two years ago."

Will looked to Hannibal, just long enough to catch the momentary glint of curiosity in his maroon eyes, then saying, "I see the Ripper, but I don't...feel the Ripper. The brutalization of the body was done posthumously. The Chesapeake Ripper usually does that sort of thing during, not after."

"So, are you saying that Abel Gideon isn't the Chesapeake Ripper?" Jack asked

"Gideon's murder of his wife and her family was impulsive. The Chesapeake Ripper is methodical and meticulous. This is not his work, this is the work of someone who wants to be the Ripper." Will added sighing frustrated, “Maybe he is the Ripper, I don’t know, but if he's a plagiarist, the real Chesapeake Ripper is gonna make sure everybody knows it.”

***

That night, after sending Abigail to go feed Will’s dogs, Hannibal and Will went down into the secret basement of Hannibal’s house and had Miriam call Jack using an untraceable phone.

“Hello.” Jack greeted when he answered the phone

Miriam began to speak, her voice a loud whisper, “Jack. Jack.”

“Who is this?” Jack asked

“Jack, it's Miriam. I don't know where I am. I can't see anything-“ Miriam began, beginning to tremble

“Miriam?” Jack interrupted

Miriam ignored the interruption, shakily saying, “I was so wrong. I was so wrong. Miriam? Please... Jack. Please. I don’t want to die like this!”

***

The next day, after some plotting with Jack to lure out the real Ripper, Freddie Lounds publishes an article proclaiming Abel was the real Ripper.

So, while Hannibal made breakfast, Will read the Tattlecrime article out loud, “His name is Dr. Abel Gideon, and strong evidence has surfaced that he's far more than a mild-mannered surgeon who cruelly murdered his wife. 

Maybe, just maybe, Gideon is the most sought-after serial killer at large, a killer who's eluded the FBI for years and has baffled their most gifted profilers. 

That serial killer? None other than The Chesapeake Ripper. This would explain why The Ripper has been silent for more than two years.”

So, after they ate, they took Miriam to Jack’s house once they were sure he and Bella were gone —both clad in their murder suits— and had her leave her fingerprints and hairs all over the F.B.I agent’s bed...


	4. Jealousy

Narrator's POV

After Miriam's arm was discovered in the observatory, Will and Hannibal were out on their first true date.

During these last few days, Will had fully moved in with Hannibal so he no longer made the hour long trip to see his lover daily.

For their date, Hannibal was taking Will to the opera and even had bought him a new suit —that's price tag had left Will stunned.

The performance was lovely, though Will didn't understand anything the woman was singing, and during the intermission, he and Hannibal socialized.

And, as much as he hated doing so, Will understood the importance of an alibi so he knew he had to make himself known.

Will was introduced to several of Hannibal's acquaintances and currently they were talking to a woman named Irene Komeda.

"It's been too long since you've properly cooked for us, Hannibal." Irene playfully said

Hannibal said, "Come over and I will cook for you."

"I said properly." Irene clarified, her tone a bit more serious, "Means dinner and the show."

The older woman turned to Will, "Have you seen him cook? It's an entire performance. He used to throw such exquisite dinner parties."

Irene then turned back to Hannibal, "You heard me: 'used to'."

"And I will again, once inspiration strikes." Hannibal replied, "I cannot force a feast. A feast must present itself."

"It's a dinner party, not a unicorn." Irene sarcastically said

"Oh, but the feast is life. You put the life in your belly and you live." Hannibal countered

The novelist chuckled, then looking away from them towards a bigger man accompanied by a taller African American man, "I believe this young man is trying to get your attention."

Looking at the two men, Will recognized them: the taller man was the murderer that would appear in a month or so who would kill a trombonist to make him an instrument and the shorter man was his final victim.

"Hello." Hannibal politely greeted

The future victim smiled, shaking Hannibal's hand, "Hi. It's so good to see you. This is my friend Tobias."

"Good evening." Tobias greeted

Will noticed the glare the victim was giving him, jealous that Hannibal's arm was around his waist, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Will, Hannibal's date."

Will immediately noticed the spark of anger and jealousy in Franklyn's eyes, so lipping into Hannibal's mindset and wondered if he could have the victim kill the would-be killer.

"How do you two know each other?" Irene asked Franklyn, sipping at her glass of champagne after

Hannibal turned back to bed, "There should remain some mystery to my life outside the opera."

"I'm one of his patients." Franklyn awkwardly said

Hannibal seemed annoyed but no one but Will caught it, turning back to Franklyn and asking, "Did you enjoy the performance?"

"I did. I loved it. Every minute." Franklyn excitedly answered

"His eyes kept wandering." Tobias countered, "More interested in you than what was happening on stage."

"Oh, don't say too much. You must leave something for us to discuss next week." Hannibal replied, "Franklyn, good to see you. You too, Tobias."

***

During the drive home, Will stared out the window into the dark Baltimore night, "I don't like him?"

"Jealousy, mylimasis?" Hannibal asked, a hint of laugher in his voice, "Franklyn is a classic hypochondriac that believes he has major depression. He is lonely and becomes obsessed with anyone who gives him the slightest bit of attention."

"I'm not jealous." Will huffed, earning a raised eyebrow from Hannibal, "Fine, I'm a bit jealous, but no where near as jealous as he was. I could tell he wnated to fight me."

"And yet you continued to stroke the flames by making sure to rub-in the fact you are my date." Hannibal replied

"I'm your murder husband." Will chuckled, "I think I'm entitled to that. But I still want to kill him."

"Tell me, Will, how would you like to do it?" Hannibal asked

Will closed his eyes, imagining the swinging pendulum as his mind brought him to the scene, reciting what he saw, "I wait in the small library loft in your office, sitting between bookshelves as you invite him into his session. He is your last session of the day, something he has done on purpose so he is the last patient in your mind as you return home. He doesn't see me, I don't want him to, he sits in the proper chair and begins to talk to you about some pitiful problem. He doesn't hear me sneak down the ladder and creep towards him, his attention focused solely on you. He render him unconscious and take him from your office and take him to the fountain in the center of the city. This is my design."

****

The following morning, Will was called to examine the body in order to discover whether this was a Ripper kill or not.

Franklyn's body was displayed in a mournful position on a community fountain, his eyes pulled out of their sockets to resemble tears.

His chest had been cut out and his intestines where hanging out like snakes.

Finally, he held his heart in his hands, the blood dripping into the water.

Will closed his eyes, remembering the act of displaying, "This killer is not the Ripper nor are they a copycat. They are honoring the Ripper, they want to show how different Gideon and the Ripper are. This killer was offended by the fact Gideon was believed to be the Ripper. The victim even shares a slight similarity to Gideon, since they probably couldn't get to the fake."

"So this killer is a fan of the Ripper?" Jack asked

Will nodded, "They believe themselves to be the Ripper's biggest fan. As the Ripper continues this sounder, the fan might be engorged into following suit to get the Ripper's attention."

Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Great. Two killers to worry about.”...


	5. The Courtship

Narrator's POV

About a week after Franklyn's body was found, a few hours after dinner, Will went down into the basement where his murder suit was waiting and got dressed.

As he began to head out of the house, he noticed Hannibal waiting for him by the front door, "Where are you going, mylimasis?"

"Out." Will replied, "I'd elaborate but I don't want to ruin the surprise. Keep an eye on Tattlecrime in between patients tomorrow."

Before he left, the younger male kissed the older male's lips and went out.

***

The following afternoon, Will was called to a crime scene while Hannibal was still at his office.

"Victim has been identified as Randall Tier." Zeller told Will

Price added, "Worked at the Natural History Society, mostly in skeleton reconstruction."

"Which would explain why he is now attached to the skeleton of a cave bear." Beverley finished

Will then 'did his thing' and imagined the crime once everyone was out of the room, remembering what he had done last night.

"Randall doesn't know me yet, not in this life. He knows not how I have hunted him like the animal he believes himself to be. I render him unconscious by taking him by surprise and began to make my amputations, separating his body parts in order to attach them to the bones of the most similar animal. Now that he is dead, I craft my letter, knowing the intended will read it and appreciate the message. That is my design." Will thinks, the corners of his mouth raised slightly to hint a smile

He relays most of that to Jack once he returns.

"This killer isn't the Ripper or a Copycat —not truly. This killer is paying homage to the Ripper's style in order to grab his attention, this is the same fan." Will informed, his face neutral, "He wants the Ripper to know the letter is for him."

"And what does the letter say?" Jack asked, slightly frustrated that he had two serial killers now

Will turned to the older man, "The pink camellias in his mouth show longing, the heliotropes in the brain symbolize devotion, the hyssops along the stomach shows sacrifice, the white roses in the hands show new beginnings, and the toadflax in the heart basically asks 'please notice my feelings for you'. The killer is writing the Ripper a love letter, the first victim was the greeting, this is the message."

***

Three days later, the body of Matthew Brown, an orderly at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, was discovered crucified and hung in a public swimming pool.

"My victim doesn't know me but he knows of me. He recognizes me but I manage to overpower him and begin my harvesting. First I slit his wrists to let him bleed out like the pig he is and cut off the top of his skull, taking his brain. Then I take his lungs, kidneys and eyes. I then write my reply; that is my design." Will thought as he recreated the scene in his mind

"Is this the Ripper or the admirer?" Jack asked the empath once returning into the room

"This is the Ripper, it's seems he's written his reply." Will replied, "The hydrangeas in the heart show that the Ripper is 'happy to be understood', the lavender roses in the eye sockets show love at first sight, the sweet Williams in the wrists show admiration and the ambrosia in the head show reciprocated love. The Ripper accepts the admirer and wants to set up a line of communication."

"Communication? The last thing we need is a team-up between two psychopaths." Jack furiously say

Will shrugged, "Knowing Freddie Lounds, the article for these killings are probably already on there: that's probably how they are communicating."

***

When Will was finished at the crime scene, he walked right into the older man's office for his Jack-ordained session.

"Seriously, Hannibal, Sweet Williams?" The empath asked as he sat, not even greeting his lover, "You're basically pointing Jack's attention at us."

"My dear boy, during the entire time I have known Jack I have been making cannibal puns and he is yet to notice." Hannibal soothed

Will cradled his head in his hands, "I know, I'm just worried our plan is going to fail horribly. Guilt sticks to me."

Hannibal nodded, "And I am working to insure that you remain innocent in the eyes of others no matter how much guilt you draw."

The younger male nodded, sitting up fully, "Thank you. But, I had an idea for a 'date' tonight."

"Which would be?" Hannibal asked

"Let's show Jack the Ripper and his admirer have teamed up." Will replied

And that's exactly what they did.

Killing the Dragon was just as magical as it was when they had done it last.

Though this time, time did not reset; instead, the lovers could barely stop themselves from making love when they finished their display.

But when they got home, that’s exactly what he did.

***

Will sighed happily as he looked up at the corpse of Francis Dolarhyde, his body sore from last night’s activities.

The body was displayed in a movie theater, his ribs had been ripped open to resemble wings, his jaw ripped open to turkey look like he was roaring.

This would likely be the final letter, Will related that to Jack, since this letter was addressed to the F.B.I.

“The lotus in the head shows enlightenment, the Myrtle in the ribs symbolize love in marriage, the violets in the mouth shows faithfulness, the amaranth along the wings show immortal love, and the bamboo stabbed through the legs showed longevity.” Will interpreted, “This shows the beginning of their partnership.”

"A match made in Hell." Beverley commented as she photographed the scene

"Still a better love story than 'Twilight'." Price said with a shrug

Zeller added, "If this is flirting for them I'd hate to see the break-up."

***

The next morning, as Hannibal made breakfast and Abigail was letting the dogs out, Wil read the new Tattlecrime article aloud for his family that was titled, "Murder Husbands? The Crime World's Newest Love Story.”

Will had a happy grin on his face as he read the article...


	6. Three Becomes Five

Narrator's POV

It had been a month since the partnership between the Chesapeake Ripper and his ‘fan’ had begun.

‘Coincidentally’, Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham had also been married for a month.

They didn’t have a proper wedding, they had a simple courthouse wedding where their license was signed by a judge and Abigail was their witness.

They also hand by told anyone about their change in status, why would they? Everyone who needed to know knew.

After they had married, they changed their guardianship if Abigail into an adoption.

So now, they were properly a Lecter-Graham family.

***

Will sat in the secret basement of Hannibal's home, staring at Miriam's comatose body.

The one-armed woman had recently been forced into a coma after her arm had been removed.

Miriam was a young woman in her early thirties, and it was very unlikely she would remember much of this when she was ‘freed’ in case Jack started suspecting them.

So, it was doubtful she would notice if she was used as a surrogate when she took the stage to use her and Chilton as their scapegoats, especially if a kidney was removed.

Taking Will from his thoughts was his lover's voice, "There you are, mylimasis."

"Hey." Will greeted, turning around

The Lithuanian man wrapped his arms around Will's waist from behind, "What are you thinking, dear Will?"

The empath leaned against him, "What do you think of having more children?"

"I am not against the notion." Hannibal replied, pressing his lips to Will's shoulder, "Which one of us would be fathering this hypothetical child or would we be adopting once again?"

"My idea would have you fathering the first and me the second." Will replied, "If you are okay with it, I would pair with Margot for the supposed 'Verger Baby' or make an arrangement with her and we'd kill her when we leave. But the first, I was thinking you could father with Miriam since we have her here."

Hannibal was silent for a minute before he pressed a kiss to the crook of Will's neck, "Then we shall build our family."

***

During dinner that night, the family of three were eating in general silence.

Setting down his fork, Will turned to Abigail and asked, "Abby, how would you feel about being a sister?"

“I’ve always wanted to have some siblings.” Abigail replied after wiping her face with a napkin

“Good.” Will said, “Hannibal and I have been thinking about having a few more.”

***

For the following few weeks, Miriam's ovulation cycle was closely followed for maximum fertility, as they searched for that window of time where she would be most fertile.

The pair went back into the basement, Will held the small syringe full of Hannibal's seed —which Will has helped collect— while the older man prepared the procedure for the artificial insemination.

Once everything was ready, Will watched as the contents of the syringe was injected into her Fallopian tubes.

"It will take two weeks at minimum until we know if the procedure was successful." Hannibal informed

"That's fine." Will replied

***

As if it was fate, Margot Verger began her therapy months earlier in this version of life.

And just as before, Hannibal led her in he direction of ‘thinking’ about having a son.

This time though, he casually mentioned that he ha Shia husband were looking for a surrogate for a child.

Hannibal mentally smirked when he could practically see the lightbulb go off in Margot’s brain when the idea made itself known.

She asked to meet his husband and a meeting was arranged.

***

A week later, at the beginning of Margot’s next therapy session, the two Lecter-Graham and soon heiress Verger had their meeting.

Will faced Margot, "Let's not dance around this and cut to the chase: you need a male heir and Hannibal and I want a surrogate. I will provide you with my seed in exchange for partial custody. I want to have my son live with me every week from Thursday morning to Sunday night and every holiday."

Margot was silent for a moment and agreed, that sounded fair and besides any male influence that wasn't her brother was a good influence, "That's reasonable."

"Additionally, I want naming rights to the baby, my choice of first name and middle name." Will added, "Finally, in the off chance we get twins or triplets or something, I want full custody of all of them besides the heir."

Margot agreed to that as well, she didn't really want a child, she just needed a male heir as her loophole into getting the Verger fortune.

With the agreement made, all three of them signed the document and a copy was sent to Hannibal's lawyer.

With the agreement made, Will asked, "Would you prefer to do this au naturel or artificially?"

Margot raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at that, wondering if that was technically cheating but didn't dwell on it, "Artificially has better chances. I'm aware Dr. Lecter was a surgeon, I'd like it if you would preform the insemination procedure, unless you know someone that would allow my brother to catch wind of this."

***

By the time the month ended, they knew they that both surrogates were pregnant...


	7. The Murder Magnet

Narrator's POV

As much as Will accepted and embraced his Becoming, he still swore that he was a 'murder magnet'.

Hannibal had raised a graying-eyebrow when he had first said that during a Jack-sanctioned therapy session after the whole ordeal with the med-student turned organ harvester.

The former police officer knew his husband well enough that Hannibal was asking what he meant even thought he obviously did.

"Give me your opinion, Dr. Lecter, why do so many psychopaths and serial killers take refuge in Baltimore? Eldon Stammets, Abel Gideon, Tobias Budge, Matthew Brown, Randall Tier, Francis Dolarhyde, you, me; all of us killers that call Baltimore home." Will said, "Is it because Baltimore is one of the biggest cities in the country, yet not so big that our crimes can be glossed over? Is it because we're just a little more than an hour drive away from the nation's capital? Or perhaps, because were in the biggest city closest to Quantico, close enough to tease the F.B.I. with our designs?"

***

Around a week later, Will was teaching one of his classes when he got the call from Jack to meet him at the Baltimore Metropolitan Orchestra Hall.

"The victim is Douglas Wilson, a member of the orchestra's brass section." Jack informed as Will walked up the stairs to the stage, "A trombone player. He was killed shortly after his last performance. Blunt force trauma to the back of the head."

Will circled around the corpse, staring at the exposed vocal cords pressing against the neck of the cello, his voice steady instead of the shakiness he had last time around, "His killer brought him here to put on a show."

Jack's stance visually tensed, "Will, is it me, or is it becoming easier for you to look? 

"It's purely an intellectual exercise." Will calmly said, still circling the corpse like a vulture waiting to peck

Jack's eyes narrowed, "Well, in the narrow view of forensics, that's exactly what it is."

Will turned to face him, "I'm fine, Jack; I went on sick leave awhile ago, got my head back on."

"Good." Jack replied, turning to leave so Will could 'work his magic', "Get to work. We'll come back in when you're ready for us."

On cue, the F.B.I. forensics team exited the room to allow Will to work without witness.

Will turned back to the body once the door closed behind Jack, closing his eyes he invisibles the golden pendulum swinging in his mind.

Once he opened his blue eyes, Will saw the scene of the murder from the killer's perspective as always, "I open his throat from the outside to access the trachea and expose the vocal chords. I open his throat from the inside using the neck of a cello. Powder on the wound: rosin from the bow."

Within his mental reconstruction, Will picked up the bow, holding the strings against the vocal cords, "I wanted to play him. I wanted to create a sound. My sound."

As he began to play a deep and somber piece, the brunette whispered, "This is my design."

A loud clapping was heard; looking up within his mind Will saw not the ghost of Garret Jacob Hobbs, but rather Hannibal and Abigail dressed for the opera, watching him perform.

***

Once they arrived back at Quantico, Will didn't have anymore classes to teach so he watched the team go through the victim's autopsy.

"Played him like a fiddle." Zeller commented, "Along with rosin powder, we found sodium carbonate, sulfur dioxide, lye, and olive oil in the wounds. What is the deal with the olive oil? 

"Sure wasn't making salad." Price replied, "He removed anything non-muscular or fatty from around the vocal folds. 

"The chords themselves were treated with a sulfur dioxide solution." The tallest of the forensic trio added

Price then explained to Will, "The sulfur dioxide had the effect of hardening the vocal chords."

"Made them easier to play." Will slowly said, showing understanding before staring at the corpse and bitterly saying, "Had to open you up to get a decent sound out of you."

The three examiners stared at him for a moment in shock before Beverly tried to lighten the mood, "You pick it up and can't play it, he'll put you down and play you."

"He took the time to whiten the vocal chords before playing them." Zeller noted

"It's not about whitening them; It was about, um, increasing elasticity." Will interjected

"He treated the vocal chords the same way you treat catgut string." Beverley added before turning back to her co-workers, "Yes, I played the violin."

"This takes a steady hand. A confidence. He's killed before." Will informed

"Like this?" Zeller asked

Will shook his head, "No, not like this. This is a skilled musician trying a new instrument."

***

An hour or so later, when Will got into his car, he pulled out his phone and called his husband, "Are you free?"

"For you? Always, mylimasis." Hannibal replied, "But, yes, I have seen my last patient for the day and was locking up."

"Good." Will replied, a slight blush gracing his cheeks from his husband's sweetness, "Interested in getting your harpsichord restrung?"...


	8. A Killer’s Serenade

Narrator's POV

A around an hour and a half later, Will arrived in across the street of 'Chordophone String Shop' and found Hannibal waiting in his Bentley in front of the shop.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Will greeted as he walked up to his husband

Hannibal turned to face him, "I haven't been here long; I had ample time to stop by home to check up on Abigail."

"Has she decided which online university she wants to attend yet?" Will asked, remembering how frustrated she had been during dinner last night

Hannibal shook his head slightly, "Still arguing with herself over careers, I'm afraid."

Will shrugged as he opened the door and hurried to stop the bell from ringing, whispering, "Well there's no rush."

A composition could be heard as they walked deeper into the shop, presumably from the owner.

Will then walked into another room, going to where he remembered the trap door was.

Hannibal walked alone towards the counter, listening to the tune.

"You were Franklyn's therapist, Dr. Lecter, I believe we met at the opera." The violinist said as he walked towards him

"Nice to see you again. Is it Tobias?" Hannibal asked

"Yes." Tobias confirmed

Hannibal then turned towards one of the nearest instruments on display, "Your strings are all gut."

Tobias went towards a counter, "I also carry steel and polymer strings, if you prefer."

"I prefer gut. Harps strung with gut still make music after two thousand years." Hannibal replied, plucking a string

Tobias' eyes narrowed a bit after hearing footsteps coming from downstairs, "I didn't hear you ring the bell."

"I didn't want you to stop playing. Was it an original composition?" Hannibal asked, knowing Tobias was on to Will

"Something I've been writing. You compose?" Tobias inquired

"I discover." Hannibal clarified, "Can't impose traditional composition on an instrument that's inherently free form."

Tobias roads an eyebrow, "What instrument would that be?"

"The Theremin." Hannibal answered, "It can generate any pitch throughout its range —even those between conventional notes."

"And so can a violin, or a trombone." Tobias countered

"It seems we are both comfortable playing between conventional notes." Hannibal said, then changing the subject, "I hear the symphony's looking for a new trombonist."

"Altogether horrible what happened." Tobias said, his voice still neutral

"Not altogether. It's an unfortunate way to leave the symphony, yes, but I can't help thinking the orchestra will be better for it." Hannibal replied

Tobias smirked a bit, "At least the brass section. What brings you here looking for gut?"

"My harpsichord needs new strings. It's making an awful noise. Perhaps you could help." Hannibal asked, hearing Will open the door to his car

***

After arranging a date and time as well as paying for the new strings, Hannibal returned to his car and drove home.

When he arrived, he found Will connecting his phone to the home computer, printing out evidence of what Tobias was making.

Before Hannibal could speak, the brunette answered his question, “Just a bit of insurance to make sure our guest plays nice.”

***

As the three of them sat at dinner, Tobias having finished restringing the harpsichord, the psychiatrist asked their guest, "More wine? A late harvest Vidal from Linden. 

"Oh, Virginia." The dark skinned guest said as his glass was poured into, "I thought it was French."

"The Virginia wine revolution is upon us." Hannibal clarified with a chuckle as he sat down at the head of the table

After awhile, Hannibal said, "I apologize for being so blunt, Tobias, but I have to ask: did you kill that trombonist?"

"Do you really have to ask?" The cello player replied, answering with a question of his own

"No. Just changing the subject." The Lithuanian man smirked, taking a sip from his wine

Will turned to look at the man seated across from him, "The murder is being investigated by the F.B.I.; they're going to find you."

Tobias turned from Hannibal towards the profiler, calmly replying, "Let them."

"You want to get caught?" Will asked, a chestnut eyebrow raised

"I want them to try. They may investigate me because I own a string shop. They'll send men to investigate, and I'll kill them. Then I would disappear." Tobias informed, his voice never loosing its calmness until the end where he gained a smirk, "Actually, I was going to kill you two."

"Of course you were: we're lean. Lean animals yield the toughest gut." Hannibal neutrally replied, his voice barely hinting at his excitement, "What stopped you from wanting to kill us? Or have you stopped?"

"I stopped after I followed you two one night. Out of town. To a lonely road. To a bus yard." Tobias informed, his voice gaining a seriousness

Hannibal chuckled, his excitement in full display, "You're reckless, Tobias."

Will chuckled as well, remembering his and Hannibal's most recent kill: a man they had cut in half and left in an abandoned bus, the victim —some rude doctor Hannibal had seen years ago— left sitting across the aisle from himself; his heart and liver had been a wonder dinner the night after their kill.

"I'm not going to tell anyone what I saw you both do and do well. So my recklessness doesn't concern you." The cello player assured

"It concerns us because you won't be drawing attention just to yourself." Will warned

"I could use a friend. Someone who can understand me. Who thinks like I do and can see the world and the people in it the way I do." Tobias blurted

"We know exactly how you feel." Hannibal replied, his voice teasing

But Will interjected, killing the guest's hopes, "But we don't want to be your friend."

"Then why did you invite me here for dinner?" Tobias asked, "I wasn't just to restring your harpsichord."

Will smirked, "We're going to kill you and display what's left of you just as we did to Franklyn."

The man looked down at his plate, his hand reaching towards his mouth.

"I didn't poison you, Tobias." Hannibal soothed, "I wouldn't do that to the food."...


	9. Rebirth

Narrator's POV

Two days later, the F.B.I. were greeted with the sight of Tobias' corpse also at the Baltimore Symphony.

The body was hanging from the rafters by its wrists, being suspended by intestines that were not from the body as Tobias' own intestines were tied into a noose and hanging under him.

On the empty stage, Illuminated by the spotlights, where more intestines spelling out, "Looking for me?"

Naturally, Will was called in and he confirmed to Jack that this was done by the Chesapeake Ripper and his fan-turned-partner.

***

Months later, after solving the totem pole and muralist killers, Will had just finished his last class of the day when he received a call from Hannibal.

Picking up the phone as his students filled out the door, Will greeted his husband, "Hey."

"Our surrogate is in labour." Hannibal informed, his voice as calm as if he was discussing the weather

Will didn't need to ask which one, he would have been the one to receive the call from Margot if she was the one in labor.

Rushing home, Will hurried down to the hidden basement where he found Hannibal beginning to perform a cesarean on the unconscious woman.

Abigail was present as well, acting as nurse as she handed things to Hannibal as he requested them.

Both of them were dressed in green medical scrubs —though Abigail's were very baggy, since they probably belonged to the Lithuanian man— as well as face masks.

"How can I help?" Will asked as he entered the glass-walled room

Hannibal was silent for a second, carefully cutting the flesh above Miriam's womb, "Get a few towels and a small basin of warm but not hot water."

***

The surgery didn't last long, only taking about fifty minutes.

Once the baby was out, Hannibal immediately placed the baby in Will's waiting arms and carried it over to the bassinet.

As the empath cleaned their child with gentle strokes of the towel, the other male sewed their surrogate back together.

While Miriam had unknowingly completed her task, her purpose had not yet been achieved so she would continue to live in a coma.

Once the stitches were closed and her stomach cleaned, she was left alone.

Abigail and Hannibal walked over to where Will was wrapping the crying infant in a blanket.

"It's a girl." Will informed

Hannibal nodded, removing his surgical gloves to touch his husband, "We have a second daughter."

"What are you going to name her?" Abigail asked, looking at her little sister

Before either of the males could answer, they were all distracted by the sight of the baby girl opening her eyes, revealing a deep maroon the exact same as Hannibal's.

At the sight, Hannibal's mind took him back decades to another memory very similar to this.

He remembered being six years old as his mother and father presented him with his little sister.

And here she was, looking exactly the same as she had the day she was born.

"I would like to call her Mischa." Hannibal answered

Will stroked his husband's hand, "I like it, Mischa Charlotte Lecter-Graham."

Hannibal agreed, thinking, "Mischa Lecter, back from the dead."

***

In the days that followed, Mischa was anything but a peaceful baby.

She rarely stopped crying if she wasn't in someone's arms.

It also created the battle of who was taking paternity leave.

Hannibal insisted that he should put his practice on hold and stay home with the baby so Will could work and keep Jack away.

Will claim was similar, saying he should stay home and Hannibal keep establishing alibis.

The argument lasted days, but in the end Hannibal won, Jack was the bigger threat to their growing murder family.

Whenever Will returned home from teaching ir a crime scene, he could often find Hannibal sitting in the white rocking-chair in the nursery, softly telling their daughter tales in what the brunette guessed was Lithuanian.

Will stood in the doorway of the nursery, Hannibal's back to him.

If he listened close, Will heard Hannibal whisper, "Aš myliu tave, mieloji dovana, niekas tavęs nebeskaudins ir niekada nebeišsivers."

The teacher knew some Lithuian, Hannibal had been teaching him and Abigail a few languages to prepare them for life abroad I'd the worst still occurred, but he had little clue what his husband was saying, but the loving tone told Will enough. 

Hannibal was well aware of his husband's return home, his keen sense of smell picking up on that same atrocious aftershave Will refused to get rid of.

"How has she been today?" Will asked, waking in order to face him

"Very temperamental." Hannibal replied, "She has no natural taste for the arts as I hoped."

Will chuckled at that, Hannibal had played classical music constantly in Miriam's room in order for the baby to hear it and be able to recognize it after birth.

"Maybe she's exhausted of hearing it constantly, put on something new." Will replied, a smirk playing in his lips

Hannibal seemed offended at the notion.

The profiler shrugged, kissing Mischa's forehead and Hannibal's lips, "I'm just saying a bit of jazz never hurt anyone."

If looks could kill, Will would very much be dead by his husband's hands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal said, "I love you, darling gift, no one will hurt you and get away with it ever again."


	10. Join ‘Em

Narrator's POV

A few more weeks passed, the totem pole murders were solved and Georgia Madchen was put in the hospital.

Margot, who was hiding her pregnancy from her brother via a horse tournament in Texas, was still yet to go into labor.

For now, family life for the Lecter-Grahams was same as usual.

***

Bevearly Katz woke up with a start, turning her head and facing her alarm clock which read ‘1:26AM’.

She remembered something weird, a past life yet she was still herself.

Will Graham had been put in the nuthouse, but he hadn’t, and she remembered him having her investigate Hannibal Lecter for being the Chesapeake Ripper.

And then the physiatrist had...

“Oh God.” Bev muttered, sitting up, “That bastard killed me.”

Opening her bedside drawer, she pulled out her F.B.I. issued gun, a Sig Sauer P226, and gets dressed.

Dressed in a black t-shirt, red leather jacket, black tights and boots, Bev tied her long black hair in a ponytail and grabbed her keys, heading to her car.

***

Like a spy or assassin, Bev drove to Baltimore and eventually found her way to Lecter’s house.

Jumping the fence to the backyard door, she began to jam her arm through the dog-door until due reached the doorknob and unlocked the door.

Silently moving through the house, Bev found herself in the kitchen where Hannibal Lecter was preparing a baby bottle.

That’s not what got her attention though, no what shocked her was the baby in his arms that he was softly singing in other language to.

The woman was making eye contact with the baby while the man was faced away from her.

Before he put the rubber nipple on the bottle, Beverly watched in horror as the killer pricked his finger and put a few drops into the bottle before sealing it.

As he gently pressed the bottle against the baby’s lips, Hannibal spoke at last, “It’s very rude to break into someone’s home, Ms. Katz.”

The ash blond man turned to face her, but then moved his head to kiss the suckling baby’s forehead, “Why have you graced us with your company at such a late hour?”

“I remember what you did to me, your crazy bitch.” Bev answered, pointing her gun at him

Hannibal tsked, hearing footsteps walking above them: Will was awake.

How unfortunate, he had hoped to let his husband sleep through the night when he had gotten up to tend to their youngest daughter.

Placing the baby safely in the dry sink for the time being, Hannibal grabbed knives from their block and threw them at the crime scene investigator.

As the knives cut her arms, she yelped in pain and dropped her gun.

Hannibal kept over the island, grabbing another knife as he slid along the marble and tackling her.

Bev tried her hardest to defend herself, kicking and clawing at him.

Kicking him in the groin, she managed to gain enough time to crawl out from under him and begin her escape.

Before she could stand, Hannibal stuck the knife into her foot, cutting the limb in half.

The Asian woman didn’t notice as the brunette silently entered the room and picked up the baby, also picking her her bottle and resuming her feeding.

Bev tried to get up but her split-foot just brought her back down.

As she crab-walked away she saw the empath, “WILL, HELP!”

The male made no move to assist her, just watching as Hannibal got closer to her.

"HE'S THE CHESAPEAKE RIPPER!" Beverly screamed, desperately crab-walking away from Hannibal

"I know." Will calmly replied, still feeding the baby

Beverly blinked, momentarily pausing, "What? You knew? You knew and did nothing?!"

Will gave a smirk, "Who do you think the Ripper's Fan is?"

"N-No, you couldn't-" Bev stammered, her eyes widening even more as she was cornered

The brunette shrugged, setting down the empty bottle, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

***

In the morning, Abigail yawned as she sat at the table.  
She still didn’t know what had happened last night, all she remembered was when Will had woken her and told her to don a black wig and red leather jacket and drive a car to the woods.

It had been a long walk home and far too little sleep but she didn’t mind.

Like every morning, Hannibal presented his family with a pretentiously fancy breakfast containing at least one meat component and they all sat to eat.

It was actually slightly humorous to see Hannibal’s aesthetically pleasing dining room perfectly decorated and then have a cartoon puppy high chair break the immersion.

Unlike her family, Mischa simply watched her family eat since she had already had her morning bottle while the last of breakfast had been made.

After the meal, Abigail broke the silence, “What happened?”

She didn’t need to elaborate, her adoptive fathers knew what she meant.

Will answered, “Someone else remembered.”

The nineteen year told nodded, “Oh, how?”

“We don’t know, we don’t know why her and why now or anything.” Will replied

“I have a theory.” Hannibal said, “If I remember correctly, last night in the former timeline I killed her.”

“And?” Will asked, knowing there was more

“My current belief regarding our ‘do over’ is that we all died in our old timeline and woke up the day our lives permanently changed. For us, mylimasis, we died when you pulled us off the cliff and woke up the day we met. For Abigail, she woke up on her last day with her birth family. If anyone else will remember they most likely haven’t arrived to that important date yet.”

Will agreed, that made sense, “Them we should leave before Jack or others at the F.B.I. remember.”

“Not yet, lets invite our enemies together first. We’d love to have them for dinner before we go.” Hannibal replied...


	11. The Ravenstag

Narrator's POV

Just like before, Beverly’s body was left in display in the observatory.

Her body cut into slices, showing her body in sections in a display case.

Unlike before, when Will arrived to analyze the scene, Jack was even angrier then last time.

Ignoring it for now, Will ‘did his thing’ and reconstructed the scene in his mind.

He remembered using the woods as to cut up her body with his husband, setting them up on display carefully between glass panels.

“It’s the Ripper, Jack.” Will answered

“And his Fan? Or is this a one man job?” Jack asked, rubbing his face with his hand

“Yes, it was them both. The Fan left a calling card in the form of her heart: it’s been replaced with a pomegranate.” Will pointed out

Jack sighed, “First flowers and now fruit.”

“All plants have meaning, Jack, not just flowers.” Will informed

“And what does a pomegranate symbolize?”

“Literally, it represents fertility. But unless this is the Ripper’s idea of a baby shower, I think they’re going for the mythological meaning.”

“Which would be?”

“Have you ever heard the Greek Myth of Persephone?” Will asked, looking at the few pomegranate seeds littering the floor between panels

Jack’s voice was exasperated as he said, “Give me a recap.”

“Persephone is the sheltered daughter of the goddess, Demeter. Her mother never utilized Persephone to her full potential and never let her grow up. Persephone was eventually kidnapped —or rescued, depending which version of the story you read— by the god of the underworld, Hades, and made his Queen.”

***

Things were working out perfectly for the Lecter-Grahams.

A mere day after they made their decision to leave, Margot received a call from Margot saying she was in labour.

Because she was across the country in Texas, Will wouldn't be able to witness the birth but Margot said she'd be on the first plane to Baltimore tomorrow.

So, nearly twelve hours later, Will received another call from Margot telling him about the baby, "It was an easy birth, no complications according to the doctor. It's a boy, healthy baby boy that weighs seven and a half pounds and is twenty inches long."

"Have you filled out the birth certificate yet?" Will asked, putting her on speaker so his family could hear

"No, that's what I'm gong now." Margot replied, yawning halfway through her sentence, "You wanted to choose the name."

"Mariner." Will added, "Mariner Dante Verger-Lecter-Graham."

While his voice didn't give it away, Abigail and Hannibal both saw Will roll his eyes at 'Verger'.

Margot went silent but the sound of writing could be heard, so it was easy to presume she was writing that in.

***

The heiress kept to her word, by the following night little Mariner was asleep in his nursery that he shared with Mischa.

After all, the agreement between them stated that Will would have majority custody and Margot said she’d be killing Mason soon.

Neither killer cared much about that though, Hannibal had already had his fun killing Mason once before, it was only fair to give Margot a shot.

Unlike his ‘twin’, Mariner wasn’t fussy baby, he only cried whenever he needed something.

Another interesting thing to be learned is that if the ‘twins’ shared a crib, Mischa didn’t get as fussy.

Which was great since holding a baby at all times while simultaneously caring for a younger one was a bit difficult even for the master multitasker known as Hannibal Lecter.

Mariner was a very happy baby, sharing his father’s brunette curls and blue eyes.

***

Unfortunately, all plans for their Bon Voyage Dinner Party were put on hold when Will found himself called in to a crime scene where he discovered Abel Gideon had escaped.

Because Tattlecrime was yet to report any murdered physiatrists, Will and Hannibal wondered why he wasn’t following his plan from last timeline.

The cannibals spent a few hours of every night searching for Abel by following his kill trail from before —leaving Abigail temporarily alone with both infants.

They found nothing.

***

Until the fifth night, when after their nightly check they returned home and found Abel Gideon sitting in the living room pointing a gun to Abigail’s head.

Immediately, Hannibal and Will began to attack, but the other killer stopped them before they could move.

In a fake sad voice, the other male greeted them, “I went by your office, Doctor, no one was home.”

“You didn’t make an appointment.” Hannibal cooly replied

“I remember our last conversation, Dr. Lecter, and I have desire to end up on your menu again.” Gideon monotonely said

Will’s eyes narrowed, “Put down the gun, Abel.”

“And give you both the chances to pounce? I think not.” 

“We all know you will not be getting out of this house alive.” Hannibal calmly said

Out of the corner of his eye, Will could have sworn he saw the ravenstag, it’s hooves clopping softly against the wooden floor.

He hadn’t seen the ravenstag since Abigail’s death...was this a warning of what was to come?

No, he wouldn’t let his daughter be taken again.

“Then I might as well take one of you with me.” Abel replies, pressing the gun’s barrel closer to Abigail’s head

“Stop!” Will shouted, “What do you want?”

“A guarantee that I will not be on the menu again, I have no desire to have myself for dinner again.” Gideon demanded, “And I want assurance you won’t kill me.”

“You have our word you will not meet your end by our hands today.” Hannibal promised

Will immediately noted Hannibal’s wording, the ‘our hands’ and ‘today’.

That open two doors.

In the first, he and Hannibal would not be killing Gideon today, instead waiting for another chance to have him for dinner or... 


	12. Mise en Place

Narrator's POV

It seemed Abigail had also picked up on Hannibal's hint, she elbowed Abel in the face whilst he was staring at the other males.

Dropping the gun, Abel found himself pushed down onto the couch and straddled by the young woman.

Because Abigail was at a disadvantage because the man was physically stronger than her, she began to choke him with her hands, using her knees to hold his hands down.

Try as he might to kick at her, Gideon knew the battle was lost.

Before the huntress could kill her prey —using the man's own gun that had a homemade silencer— Hannibal stopped her, "Don't kill him just yet; shoot him in the hips."

Trusting her adoptive father's judgement, Abigail did as told and shot Abel twice —on either side of his hips.

Yelling in pain, Gideon quickly found himself bound, gagged and on a stretcher like he had before.

He was wheeled into the basement and placed in a cell beside from Miriam's.

"I told you, Abel, you aren't making it out alive." Will growled as he closed the door to the cell

***

Going back upstairs, Will and Hannibal comforted their still-distressed daughter with a hug.

Hannibal led Abigail into the kitchen for some relaxing lavender tea and Will went to check up on the babies.

Finding the 'twins' sleeping peacefully and unharmed, Will finally relaxed.

Going outside, he saw the dogs still wondering the backyard, so he opened the door to let Buster and Winston in.

His family was safe, that's all that mattered.

And now his family had a constant source of fresh meat until their dinner party.

***

With that distraction out of the way, plans resumed.

Hannibal used his seemingly infinite wealth —at least it felt that way to Will who was used to living on the verge of poverty— to get fourteen passports —ten human ones and four pet ones.

The first seven passports would get them out of the United States and into Croatia —because that country didn't have an extradition treaty with the United States, thus protecting them in case their fake passports were traced.

The second set would get them from Croatia into Italy, where they would be living in Florence for the foreseeable future.

False identities had also been arranged for when they did make it to Florence.

They would be traveling in three groups: Abigail would be traveling a few hours ahead of them with Mischa; Hannibal and Will would be leaving at the same time but traveling separately —Mariner with Hannibal and the dogs with Will.

Abigail had asked why she would be taking Mischa and not the dogs when she was informed of the plan.

"Because you two are the most at risk." Will had explained, "If the plan goes horribly wrong and we're arrested, you will automatically be suspected as an accessory or partner. And if the three of us are arrested, Mischa will end up in foster care. Mariner isn't as much at risk because if worst happens he will end up with Margot. If you're in Italy with Mischa and we are arrested, you will be able to look after each other in Italy using Hannibal’s resources."

They would be leaving separately because the police, F.B.I., and airport security would be looking for two men, a teenager, two infants and two dogs leaving the country together.

***

For the party, Hannibal sent just four invitations, requesting Jack Crawford, Alana Bloom, Bedilia Du Maurier and Frederick Chilton join him for dinner on Sunday night.

All of the guests accepted their invited.

***

Even though Gideon was providing a steady supply of meat via his limbs, Hannibal and Will wanted to eliminate one more pig they wouldn't allow to grace their dinner table.

Normally, this honor would belong to Mason Verger, but Margot had killed him shortly after Mariner's birth and taker her place as the new head of the Verger Family using Mariner.

Technically, the month old baby was the head of the family and Margot was just proxy until he was of age.

Both Will and Hannibal wondered if she would be allowed to keep her wealth once their family fled.

So, this dishonorable pig, Freddie Lounds, would have to do.

Clad in their clear murder suits, Hannibal and Will broke into Freddie's apartment in Baltimore.

Finding her typing at her laptop, Will ambushed her and ended up tacking her.

The redhead tried to scream but Will gagged her and held her hands back.

Hannibal tied her feet together and they sat her back at her desk.

Holding a knife to her throat, Will told her to open a new document and begin typing what they told her.

Freddie knew she was a dead-woman walking so she tried to open her webcam to record this, but Will stopped her and nicked her throat for the attempt.

“Don’t play smart, Freddie, doing what we say will get you a quick death.” Will warned, holding the knife against her jugular

“I always knew you were insane, Graham.” Freddie said

Will rolled his eyes, “What I am is not insanity, it is my truest self. I’ve finally let him out of the cage forced upon it by society.”

“Let me guess, he freed you?” Freddie sarcastically asked

“Fear makes you bold, Ms. Lounds.” Hannibal commented, reading everything she typed

“Hannibal didn’t let me out, I did, he just told me I’ve had the key to my cage all along.” Will replied, “Tick-Tock, Freddie, I’d hate to have you publish an incomplete article.”

Fearfully, Freddie continued typing.

Forty minutes later, she produced the completed article completely edited to their specifications.

Picking up Freddie’s camera, Will snapped a picture of the bound journalist.

They then began their design, doing exactly what they made her type to her.

Will broke each of her fingers one by one while Hannibal cut out her eyes and replaced them with pyrite marbles.

Hannibal then cut out her vocal cords, sewing the wound shut, the stitches spelling out “Liar”.

Finally, the empath cut off her foot and shoved it into her mouth.

A picture was taken on each step and all of them were uploaded to the article.

Once they were done, they pressed publish and left the scene...


	13. Bon Appétit

Narrator's POV

Soon, the day of the dinner party arrived.

Around noon, both Will and Hannibal gave Abigail and Mischa a hug, kiss on their cheeks and made sure they had everything they needed —luggage, diaper bag with a few bottles of milk, and fake passports.

After that, they drove Abigail to an apartment block across town and ordered her a taxi.

Hannibal reminded her that locker 213 was rented under the alias Louise Harms that would hold her next set of fake passports, different clothes and a key to the house in Florence.

With their fathers gone, Abigail held her baby sister in her arms as the taxi arrived to take Lily Smithson to the airport.

***

The final dinner in Baltimore would be exquisite.

There was several dishes there including: clay roasted thigh, heart tartare and 'beef' wellington.

Hannibal spent hours cooking with Will acting as sous chef, regularly leaving to go carve from their meat supply.

Because they had used up Gideon already to fill their fridge and over the week, they were using Miriam now.

Around twenty minutes before the guests would arrive, they received a call from Jack saying something had come up and he wouldn't be coming.

***

The show still went on, Alana, Bedelia and Frederick soon arrived for dinner.

Like always, Hannibal was a perfect host and served everyone drinks while Will fetched something from the oven.

“Where’s Abigail?” Alana asked as Hannibal poured some home-brewed beer into her glass

“Unfortunately, she seems to have caught a cold yesterday, she will not be able to join us this evening.” Hannibal skillfully lied, knowing his daughters were in a plane heading to Croatia

After a minute or two more, Will returned with a tray of heart tartare tarts and placed it in the table where other trays of food lay.

It was tradition for Hannibal to say, “I must warn you, nothing here is vegetarian.” in the beginning of his parties, so that’s exactly what he said.

The guests chuckled a bit and began to eat.

An hour later, Hannibal excused himself by saying he had to go greet another guest.

No one thought much of it until Hannibal returned pushing a wheelchair.

Alana’s eyes widened as she recognized the dead woman as one of the Ripper’s victims, Jack’s trainee.

“It’s such a shame Jack wasn’t able to join us for dinner.” Will said as the wheelchair was stopped at the table

Chilton, perhaps sensing the danger he was in, tried to make a run for it.

Will was one step ahead of him, tackling him down to the ground, “Don’t be rude, Frederick.”

Alana screamed, but Hannibal was approaching her with a knife in hand.

“I always keep my promises, Alana.” Hannibal calmly said, “You might not remember it but I do.”

The woman gasped as the blade entered her stomach, piercing her uterus.

Hannibal then dragged the blade horizontally, gutting her far worse than he had Will.

Form his time as a surgeon, he knew exactly how to carve someone open and allow them to live, Alana wasn’t receiving that luxury from him as Will had.

Bedelia was in the top five people who knew what a monster Hannibal could be, and perhaps she had known all along that he would desire to kill her one day.

The blonde made no move to resist them.

Hannibal regretted the fact he wouldn’t have the opportunity to eat Bedelia like she deserved, but he did take a few bites of her liver as he cut her open.

It was well flavored by her years of alcohol abuse, it was like it had functioned as a good marinade.

With all three of their guests dead, the couple quickly changed clothes, for their son and dogs and the necessary luggage and used a unregistered car to get to the airport.

***

Hours later, the F.B.I. were called to a scene by local Baltimore Police claiming it was the Ripper.

Horrified that the attack was at Dr. Lecter’s home, Jack soon arrived

“I don’t think you want to see this.” Price warned, looking pale

Going in anyways, the head of the behavioral science unit walked into the dining room and saw a disgusting display.

Written in a horrifying mixture of what Jack presumed to be Alana's guts and blood was, "Maybe you should have suspected us."

He nearly vomited when he saw Miriam Lass’ disfigured corpse sitting in a wheelchair at the table.

***

Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham disappeared into thin air it would seem, it was widely suspected they were laying low in the United States since their passports were being tracked.

Across town in Thurgood Marshall Airport, Henry Graves and his dogs, Leroy and Billy, boarded a plane heading for Croatia at midnight.

On a that same plane, though in first class, François Boucher was traveling with his son, Pierre.

The two men never spoke or even looked at each other during the flight, why would they as they were strangers in different classes.

And after that twelve hour flight, they barely gave each other a glance as they were heading to the same bathroom.

Ten minutes later, two men emerged from the bathroom who didn't look the same as the ones that entered.

Blake Shepard and his dogs, Buddy and Patty, got on a plane heading to Florence.

Coincidently, Giovanni Piazza and his infant son, Angelo, were returning home to Florence on that same flight.

This flight was very short, just little over an hour.

The two men and their companions got separate taxis and went to separate locations —Blake to a pet-friendly hotel and Giovanni to an apartment— where they spent the night...


	14. Florence

Narrator's POV

By the end of the week, Dr. Roman Fell and his husband, Lyall, were living in a wealthy part of Florence with their three children —Tea, Anastasia and Pascal— and two dogs —Duke and Knight.

It was gossip among the upper class in town that Lyall Fell used to be Lydia Fell and had just finished transitioning.

Of course, no one would ever mention any of that gossip to the couple's face.

***

Will Graham-Lecter yawned as he stood on the balcony of their home in Florence, his red silk robe so loosely on it barely provided any modesty —all of the hickeys and love bites on his body available to see.

He looked on into the distance at the Arno River, the golden rays of the sun illuminating him wonderfully.

It had been a year since they had escaped the F.B.I.; a year since that blessedly sinful dinner party.

And in that time, life had been relatively dull.

Both he and his husband had agreed that it was for the best they didn't draw attention to themselves and their crimes, that they couldn't engorge themselves on their designs on any murders they committed within Italy.

Though, that didn't stop them when they left Italy, just how a week ago they had a little vacation at the Vatican and killed a rather rude tourist that had harassed them over their sexuality.

No one had found the body displayed on the alter for around an hour after they had left; they had watched the discovery on the news on their flight back to Florence.

The F.B.I. was not called to the scene, but rather the Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna had been called in.

No one had made the connection between the Chesapeake Ripper and Il Mostro di Firenze being one and the same.

His phone buzzed, bearing a text message from Chiyoh —who had also regained her memory and killed her tenant a few months ago.

Opening it, he saw a picture of Jack Crawford walking out of an airport presumably in town.

Writing back, Will asked, "Have you informed H yet?"

All he got back was a simple "Yes."

Putting his phone back in his robe pocket, Will went back into the master bedroom and down to the kitchen where he saw the usual sight of Hannibal preparing breakfast, Abigail typing schoolwork on her laptop.

Knowing the daily routine, Will knew his youngest children were still asleep in their nursery, he sat at the breakfast counter.

"Did you get Chiyoh's message, dear Will?" Hannibal asked, not yet facing him

"I did." Will confirmed, "Jack's arrival is suspicious."

"Indeed." Hannibal agreed, "It seems our loose ends wished to be cut off."

"I think he will be bringing back-up to get us this time, especially if he remembers." Will added

The Lithuanian man disagreed, "I don't think he does, I am using the same alias I did in our previous timeline, if he knew he would have arrived long ago. Our hunt last week was rather messy."

Will agreed, "I suppose our life in Italy is over after we snip our final loose end."

"At least I got to show you Florence this time around." Hannibal comforted, presenting Will with a cup of coffee exactly the way his husband liked it

"Where would we be going next?" Abigail asked, looking up from her laptop

Will looked to his husband, curious about that as well.

"Anywhere you would like to go." Hannibal replied, "Though I would suggest staying within Europe, Latin America, Russia, or Japan as I can speak the languages there."

The brunet rolled his blue eyes, Hannibal said that as if that was a tiny list and not half the world.

"I'd like to go to France." Abigail commented

Hannibal hummed a bit in approval, "Paris is beautiful this time of the year."

"Sounds good to me." Will agreed, opening the door to let the dogs out onto their private backyard

***

Jack Crawford cursed as he left the airport with an overpriced, tasteless coffee in his hands as he flagged down a taxi.

His wife, Bella, had succumbed to her cancer just two months ago and he had received a condolence card from "The Lecter-Graham's" which had infuriated him enough to resume his search for him.

It was extremely difficult, Dr. Lecter was hiding his family and himself well, but Jack had finally tracked him down.

Unfortunately, he had also been let go from the F.B.I. —having two notorious serial killers hiding right under your nose did that— so he had no resources besides what he personally had.

Unaware he was being watched, the American man then got into his taxi and was taken to his hotel.

***

A few days passed and Jack was exhausted.

He had spent days visiting places he thought Hannibal would frequent: operas, museums, gourmet grocery stores, etcera.

Jack had focused on finding Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham and/or Abigail Hobbs.

But there had been no sign of them anywhere.

Entering his hotel, he walked straight to the elevator, seeing two people already inside —one reading a newspaper that covered his face and the other looking down at a phone.

Not thinking much of it, Jack got in as well, standing by the door to give them space.

Once the door closed, the man who had been on the phone —because he was closest to the buttons— asked, "Goin' up?"

Jack's eyes widened as he recognized that slight Louisiana accent, seeing Will Graham standing beside him.

He heard the sound of the newspaper hitting the elevator floor, knowing Hannibal was behind him...


	15. Il Mostri

Narrator's POV

Try as he might, Jack was quickly overpowered by the two serial killers.

Just like their fight with the Great Red Dragon in their old timeline, Hannibal and Will were in perfect sync as they restrained the head of the behavioral analysis division of the F.B.I.

Once the elevator stopped, the couple dragged Jack back to his room.

They knew they had limited time frame to get out of the country before Jack's corpse was discovered.

So they needed to be swift in killing said man and displaying him to their design.

The Murder Husbands —as the media loved calling him after Tattlecrime made it popular— spent hours cutting and forming Jack’s body into a recreation of blindness.

Like Oedipus, his eyes were gouged, like Caesar, he was stabbed to the point of being gutted.

They crucified him on the bedposts, showing how he never prepared for them.

Will sighed happily as he leaned against the wall, looking at their creation, “This...this is our design.”

Hannibal gave him a quick kiss as he finished up the precision of the display.

Both of their bodies were covered in blood —or would be if they weren’t wearing their plastic murder suits—, which they quickly disposed of before leaving the hotel.

***

Hours later, Alain Bellamy and Caine Le Blanc arrived in Paris and went towards a specific café in different ways —Alain taking the subway and Caine a cab.

There, they both met with a young mother alone with her two toddlers.

No one paid the three adults any mind, not even giving them a second glance as said toddlers climbed onto the men’s laps.

The trio immediately blended into the crowd as they left, no one caring as they traveled away together.

***

Two decades flew by; six of the seven continents homed the Lecter-Grahams —sixty-five out of the hundred and ninety-five countries in those continents if you wanted to get specific.

In that time, Will and Hannibal —now sixty and seventy, respectively— had enjoyed their lives of killing immensely.

But they had recently began noticing things, about Hannibal specifically.

The once exemplar chef was...falling from grace.

More and more things would be burned on the stove or oven, having been forgotten about by the one making them.

Not just in food were things getting forgotten: birthdays, anniversaries and holidays were ignored.

Both of them knew —Hannibal especially after years as a doctor and psychiatrist— that the older man was in the onset of Alzheimer's.

And Hannibal, being the stubborn and prideful man he was, refused to 'waste away' and let the disease conquer him.

Unfortunately, Alzheimer's still had no cure so Will knew exactly how Hannibal intended to defeat the disease: ending it all.

So, one winter afternoon, Will and Hannibal sat together in the library of their current home in Cuba.

Both of them were in a comforting silence but Will eventually spoke, "Hannibal, don't."

"Do what?" The Lithuanian man asked

"I know what you're planning." Will clarified, "I thought you always said 'suicide is the enemy'."

Hannibal gave a small huff of a smile, "My thoughts on the matter have changed a bit over the years, dear Will."

“I know, you better not try and leave without me.” Will replied, 

In his mind he practically heard Bedelia’s voice telling him, “Can’t live without him.”

Together, they wrote a note to their children, knowing Abigail would be the one to find it.

The near forty year old was the only one to never move away from home, but was currently out hunting.

Mischa and Mariner were abroad, attaining educations to carve out their own paths.

The pair knew their children would grieve but understand why they were doing it.

So once the note was completed and signed by them both —Will emphasizing his full last name—, they placed it someone easily found and walked out towards the sea by their home.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, Will gave his husband a sad smile as he took his hand, “Ready for another fall?”

Hannibal returned it, “It might not be as glorious as the last one but it makes do.”

Will rested his head on Hannibal's shoulder, his once brunette curls now a light grey, "It's still beautiful either way."

Hannibal kissed his head as Will added, "Do you think we will wake up once more that day where it all began?"

"It matters not, mylimasis." Hannibal replied, hugging Will close, "We fixed our shattered tea cup and collected two more along the way."

Closing their wrinkled eyes, just as they had in another life, they fell from the cliff snd into the unforgiving ocean below.

Whether Will and Hannibal woke up again the day Cassie Boyle's body was discovered or if they massed on didn't matter.

For in a tale passed down the Lecter-Grahams for all eternity, the story of the monster in the person suit who fell in love with the man whose head was filled with monster, they lived on.

That was their design.

The end.


End file.
